


Valentine Lessons

by navaan



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Early in Canon, Flirting, Friendship/Love, Getting Together, Identity Porn, Internal Conflict, M/M, Misunderstandings, Presumed Cheating, Romance, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 15:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15844242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: Steve Rogers was out for revenge against devastatingly attractive Tony Stark - the man who'd broken his best friend's (Iron Man's) heart. But as Steve worked with Tony on his charity ball, Steve's new Valentine wish was to have Tony all to himself! (But he can’t do that to Iron Man???)





	Valentine Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> The story is based on the summary of and this stories summary is adapted from Valentine Vendetta by Sharon Kendrick (Mills & Boon) for [unconventionalcourtship](https://unconventionalcourtship.dreamwidth.org)

It had seemed like a good idea for all but twelve hours. 

But by the time Steve met up with Tony at the venue, and Steve saw the huge and very pleased smile plastered on the billionaire’s handsome face, Steve felt the first hint of second thoughts. He knew strategy and he knew wrong from right. Leading someone on, wasn’t right. On the other hand, flirting with Tony wouldn’t be hardship.

All but despite himself, Steve felt his eyes sweep over Tony’s form and take in the handsome face and sparkling blue eyes, the tailored dark suit that flattered his lithe form and his complexion. Tony Stark looked damn good.

Nothing new or surprising there, but today it seemed more significant than ever.

 _Get your head in the game, Rogers_ , Steve thought. _You're not here to think about how attractive he is. You already know he's a handsome devil. That's why Iron Man loves him. And_ that _is why you’re here._

He stopped himself from visibly showing his lingering anger and disappointment. Point was: He was here to make Tony realize how good _Steve_ looked and not the other way around. Iron Man had said already that Tony found Steve terribly good looking and interesting, so this shouldn’t be too hard. Steve was in many ways, he’d gathered, Tony’s type. That revelation had surprised him at the time, not least of all because he hadn’t expected Iron Man to be so open about that kind of information. Especially not because at the time Iron Man must still have been in a relationship with the man himself.

Nobody had told Steve about it. Nobody seemed to know about their secret affair. But Steve had known for quite some time.

After all Steve had seen Iron Man slip in and out of Tony’s room time and time again, had seen Tony, disheveled and sweaty, walk out of the workshop long after Iron Man had joined him there. They were discreet and very careful about it, and neither of them was aware they’d been found out. Steve hadn’t been snooping and it really wasn’t any of his business. Because there had never been the right moment to reveal he had stumbled on their secret, he had kept silent. It wasn’t his place or intention to pry. But he was the only Avenger who so frequently lived at the Mansion and it had been hard to not stumble over the secret relationship between the good-looking, smart industrialist and his trusted hero bodyguard when it was happening right under his nose and with two people he cared about.

Seeing the happy twinkle in Tony's eyes now Steve could quite believe that this man was a callous heartbreaker. 

The smile was too open, too true and too dazzling.

He wasn’t here to be swept away by the Stark charm though - even if he had a bit of a weakness for dark-haired fellows with the million dollar smile. And a huge crush from his first days out of the ice on this dark-haired fellow in particular.

Forcing himself to focus, he pushed that thought out of his mind.

“Really, Captain, it's so good to see you! I'm really surprised you would want to get involved with this part of the Valentine’s charity.”

“It's for a good cause, Mr. Stark. I am always willing to help out if it’s for a good cause and children's hospital needs all the money,” Steve said seriously, trying to not feel guilty about his ulterior motives. He could play this right, he knew: Get Tony to flirt and then let him down firmly, setting him straight about the games he was playing.

 _Oh, Mr. Stark is out with Ms. Cord right now,_ Iron Man had informed him recently as if it was nothing.

_Doesn’t that bother you?_

_Me? Who the boss sees or doesn’t is no concern of mine. I’m just a bodyguard, remember?_

_Sounds like sometimes you have to remind yourself?_

Iron Man had huffed and stiffly shrugged his shoulders. He’d been in a mood then and had refused to talk about it. And even in the short exchange Steve had heard the forlorn emptiness that sometimes he felt echoed so deeply in his own ponderings. Iron Man had sounded like a man who had lost something important.

And Steve knew that feeling.

Knew it all too well.

 _You’re so much more than a bodyguard. And I’m sure Tony knows that_ he had said and tried not to pry further. He knew Tony and Iron Man were so much more than boss and employee, but he had never revealed his knowledge, had instead waited for his friend to tell him instead. Which had never happened. _I know there’s something bothering you, Shellhead. I just want you to know you can tell me whenever you’re ready or need an open ear._

 _I know, Cap, I know._ Iron Man had told him and gripped his shoulder reassuringly with a cold and heavy metal gauntlet that was so dangerous in a fight, but just Iron Man’s gentle grip when they were together like this. _Truth be told, it does bother me. The thing with Mr. Stark and Ms. Cord is breaking my heart. Everyone knows it’s not going to work out._

Even with the voice changing mask that made his voice so deep and metallic that sometimes it was hard to catch any emotion in it, Steve could hear the implied heartbreak.

He had hugged him then and there, startling Iron Man who had patted his back reassuringly and then mumbled: _Thank you for listening, Winghead. Don’t mind me. I’m being silly. This’ll pass. Tony just needs to come to his senses and do the right thing._

Even in the here and now Steve’s heart clenched a bit when he thought of his friend and the lonely anger he must have felt in that moment at the ease he had been passed over for the beautiful daughter of one of Stark’s competitors. 

There had been a few sightings of Stark with different women before that, but at the time Steve hadn’t thought any of these were serious. There had been a short moment of speculation about him meeting a male actor in private - and through all of it, Iron Man had been his normal self, only showing that he was preoccupied and distracted to the few people he let close. Only in the past few weeks with the rumors about Ms. Cord had something in the way Iron Man acted changed.

His friend had been very depressed suddenly.

And the rumors had turned out to be more than rumors. A photo of Tony kissing the young Miss in public had been all even Janet had talked for a while.

But that too seemed over already. The industrialist father hadn’t appreciated the romance between his beloved daughter and the young competitor. Mr. Cord had been cited on his disapproval of the relationship. And in the end, the dutiful daughter had listened to her father and broke it off.

So there still was a tiny chance for things between Tony and Iron Man to work out or be fixed. If Tony saw his mistake. If he apologized and returned to the man whose heart he’d broken without regard. 

Steve wondered not for the first time if there was someone in Iron Man’s life who knew his secret and who he could share his grief with. Had he told someone about his broken heart? Or had he been suffering alone all this time?

_You’re still wondering why he doesn’t share with you. You’re his best friend. Doesn’t he trust you? Or does Stark not want him to reveal their other secret?_

“Oh, you don’t need to explain,” Stark told him with an amiable smile that lit up his expressive blue eyes and led him into the banquet hall of the venue. “I’m always glad to see you around, Cap. For people who share a house, we don’t see much of each other. I’m sorry, I’ve been so busy especially recently.”

Steve’s throat constricted when he saw the sincere joy in Tony’s eyes. The man wasn’t lying - or even just flirting - when he was saying this. He was glad to see Steve.

Guilt crept up on him until he remembered that under the friendly and _flirty_ persona lived a calloused rouge who had broken his best friends heart. Someone who was too much the playboy to take into account what his “playing” was doing to someone who had shown him infinite love and loyalty over the years - someone who saved his life on a daily basis.

Someone who meant the world to Steve, too.

He tried to smile in a friendly, maybe also flirty way. Iron Man’s voice was ringing in his ears: _Mr. Stark thinks the world of you. You always were his favorite hero._ Even back when Iron Man had said it, he had thought: _Shouldn’t that be you?_  
But for all his failings, Tony had always seemed to be someone who did his best. He’d given Steve a home, supported the Avengers, and was involved in charities like this one.

“It’s really nice of you to do this, Tony. For a good cause. And I’ll be glad to help out where I can.”

“Having Captain America here will make a splash! You’re helping just by being here.”

He couldn’t help it. He cleared his throat and asked with an air of innocence: “Why didn’t you ask Iron Man to come? He’s an Avengers. People love him.”

For the merest moment Tony looked flustered, like the answer to that was something he rather not be thinking about. “Iron Man’s on a secret mission. He won’t be here on Valentine’s Day.”

“Ah,” Steve said lightly, but actually felt his heart break a little more for his friend, because even he could see through the flimsy excuse, “he always works so hard. I’m sure whatever mission you have him on, he’s going to do great. He’s the best of us. But I’m sure he would have liked to be here with you.”

Was it possible for Tony to look even more flustered?

What did it mean? Had he sent away Iron Man for Valentine’s Day? Had the two of them had a fight? Was Iron Man refusing to be here?

“I…” Tony started and got even more flustered. “He would have liked to be here, yes. He was thrilled when he heard you wanted to help out with this though. He likes working with you. Believe me, if he could have he’d be here.”

“Was he thrilled? I like spending time with him too.” It was hard to keep his whole face from shining with an echoing joy at the thought. He noticed the more private, honest smile that had stolen over Tony’s face as he smiled too and shook himself out of it, remembering why he was here: Flirt with Tony Stark. Jilt him. Make him see reason. “I’m glad we get to spend time together, too, this time, Tony. You’re right we rarely get to do that. So where do we start?”

Tony Stark - by all accounts of papers and television programs of a certain kind of bachelor a little too popular for his own good - blushed, before he could turn away. “Ehm…” he said and cleared his throat. “First you should tell me what you had in mind? Does Captain America give away the prices? Will you dance? Could we make that one of the things to give away? Then we need to decide on decorations, too. Decide on our main event. Invitations...”

 

Steve listened and had the dreadful epiphany that this would have been the perfect job for Jan - and Tony probably knew it too, but he had agreed to this because he liked Steve and wanted to spend time with him. And Steve was here because he liked Iron Man and Tony and wanted to set Tony straight… But now decorations? 

“That sounds like we’re planning a wedding,” he said carefully.

Tony weighed his head from side to side as if he was thinking that over and said: “I never got to the deep planning stages of my wedding back when I was engaged…”

Steve had read about the story. Tony had been engaged before his dreadful kidnapping - before _Iron Man_ had entered his life as a constant bodyguard and more. He nodded for Tony to go on.

“But I see the similarities,” Tony concluded. He continued in a much cheerier voice: “Well then, Cap, tell me what you think would make a romantic wedding ball?”

It was his turn to look flustered. For a moment he stared at his hands before he started to look up and let his eyes meet Tony’s “If we’re planning it together, does it make it our wedding?”

He wasn’t imagining it.

Tony flushed and squirmed.

He’d never seen the man do that before.

“It makes us the wedding planners,” Tony said after the first two attempts to speak had failed him and his cheeks were just a slight hue of crimson that Steve had never seen before. When they talked the man came off as friendly and suave and always self-assured. He was the kind of fellow who was just out of the league of a simple boy from Brooklyn and perhaps that had blinded Steve a little until now.

Perhaps someone like Tony wasn’t out of reach for Captain America.

 _Boy_ , he thought, keeping himself from showing his own discomfort, _perhaps this wasn’t the best strategy after all, Cap._

* * *

The planning of a very traditional Valentine's charity event wasn’t something he was used to, but at least that part went smoothly.

His other plan was working even better. He didn't need much more than smile and be friendly and Tony gravitated towards him like a moth to a flame. It was eerie and flattering and just a little uncomfortable. Had it always been like this? Had Iron Man noticed?

He must have.

Why then hadn't Steve?

_Because you tried to keep a professional distance. Because Stark's the kind of handsome rich guy you get a little awkward around. It's not like you have much in common._

But there was something that they did have in common apparently – and it was a shame that it only occurred to him now.

Smoldering hot mutual attraction had not been part of the plan, but god it was real and burning between them like a tangible flame. 

Coming here had been a mistake. Steve had failed to admit the truth to himself before he'd made up his mind about this and now he realized that this was what he’d been waiting for far too long.

“This is going to be great, Cap,” Tony said with the brightest possible smile. He had no idea that Steve had actually tried to lead him into the kind of trap that was meant to punish him for his treatment of his previous lover. 

Now Steve felt like the worst kind of cheat himself suddenly, because not only was Tony actually responding to his understated flirting, no, when Tony smiled at him like this, Steve was in danger of forgetting why he was here and allow this to continue. The flirting came to easily. The smiles were too real.

He liked Tony just a little too much.

_Iron Man. Think of Iron Man. He’s your friend. Even if Tony likes you, you’re here to remind him that he broke your best friend’s heart. You couldn’t do this to Iron Man, could you? To be next in line? Would you risk your friendship like this?_

They'd spent a wonderful afternoon together, talking, planning, working together, trying out food and canapes. He didn't remember when they had gone from talking about Valentine's traditions and the Maria Stark Foundation to talking about books and movies and the kind of food they liked, or when trying to be charming had ended with Steve being charmed by every flutter of Tony's dark eyelashes.

“We used to meet up more frequently in the beginning. Remember when I took you out to see a game? How about it? Let me take you out to this restaurant I mentioned.”

“The romantic one?” Steve asked with a dry throat, vaguely remembering the conversation about restaurants they'd had when they'd tried to decide on decorations and menus.

“Yes, that one.” Tony's voice became a notch quieter than before and even Steve realized the man he'd thought of as calloused playboy was looking at him with the softest glimmer of hope as if he was the one who got turned down often. 

Steve had no reason to believe that Tony was trying to cunningly play him to get him into bed – in fact, it seemed like Tony was toning down the flirting whenever Steve tried to turn it up a bit – so why was he feeling insecure? 

“Went there with Iron Man before?”

“Iron Man? Yes, possibly.” Tony frowned as if he was thinking that over.

“I mean you must have...” Steve started carefully, “shared many dinners?”

Tony's frown cleared up. “Oh, yes, of course. Him being my bodyguard and everything. He does keep out of sight most of the time when we're in public.”

“Hard to do, you'd think, with his flashy armor.”

The smile on Tony's face turned more conspiratorial as if his thoughts right now were turned inward. “You wouldn't believe how easy it is to keep him out of sight when he needs to keep a low profile.”

Taken aback by that implication, by all the uncomfortable thoughts of a man who lived a shadow life when he wasn't allowed to shine; a man who was in love but could never own up to it; a man whose lover was here talking about him as if he was just an employee.

Steve fidgeted in his seat. “I think I have to get going now, Tony. Can't leave all the avenging to the rest of the ream.”

Startled, Tony opened his mouth, about to protest and then closed it with a snap. “I didn't want to keep you, Steve. I realize this took up a lot of your day.” Tony got up out of his chair to shake his hand enthusiastically. When their eyes met, the air was crackling with electricity. They stopped, staring at each other, both realizing suddenly that they were close enough to kiss. With one pull Tony could be in his arms.

 _Remember why you're doing this,_ he told himself.

“I'll see you at the mansion,” he said weakly and stepped back reluctantly, and slowly let go of Tony's hand. His benefactor looked flustered again too.

Both of them had nearly forgotten themselves.

 _Bad_ , Steve though. _And good. He's attracted, too. And when he admits it, you can tell him to return to the man who pines for him. Head in the game, Rogers. None of this is about you. God, this was an awful idea. This isn’t what I should be doing..._

“Yes,” Tony agreed so easily to Steve’s earlier words, perking up and shedding all awkwardness hammering in the nail of guilt and awkwardness even deeper. “I'll see you around or Iron Man will keep you in the loop about how things are going. Thank you again for helping out and offering to be the guest of honor at the ball. It’s too kind.”

Steve fled the scene like a criminal on the run from a whole superhero team and decided to rethink this plan as soon as he was home.

* * *

It had been a bad plan from the very beginning, he realized, when Iron Man met him in the training room and asked about his day with Tony.

“Did you have fun, Cap?”

He didn't want to lie, but he couldn’t tell the heartbroken man that Steve’s crush on his ex-boyfriend had developed into something that was running deeper. “I'm not good with balls. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I volunteered for him. I'm no help at all when it comes to choosing venues or flower bouquets.”

“Not sure Tony's much better at any of it. He just has more experience with attending events.”

Steve smiled before he threw the shield and made Iron Man fly high enough to barely avoid crashing into the ceiling. “It's his world. He knows what he's doing. He’s the shining star of charity event planning if you ask me. Aren't you sad?”

“Sad? About what?”

“That he sent you away for Valentine's?”

Iron Man froze mid-flight, hovering a few feet up over the ground. “Who said that was his idea?”

_Oh of course. Why would he not make other plans for Valentine's if whatever was going on between him and Tony's now over?_

“Date?” he asked.

“Something like that,” Iron Man said evasively. “None of the boss' business anyway.”

 _So,_ Steve thought sadly, _things between them are over. That's why Iron Man's so withdrawn. That's why he's lonely like you are._

The treacherous part of his mind reminded him that this meant kissing Tony wouldn't be cheating.

Why did he feel so bad about it then?

* * *

On the day of the ball, Steve arrived late but in time for his big moment on the stage. In a play on his wartime posters, he was supposed to sell “Valentine’s bonds” that would be lots in their Maria Stark Foundation Valentine’s Day lottery that held grand prizes - from a romantic getaway weekend to dinner reservations for two. Even now he regretted that he would leave this event alone, with no one to share any of these with even if he were allowed to enter and win the lottery.

He would do his part now and see it through.

Tony - and when he’d complained to him also Iron Man - had suggested he stay around later to open the dancing.

He wasn’t feeling like making a fool out of himself though, but he had agreed to this and now - whatever his own confused feelings for Tony - he would see this through for the charity aspect and leave. And if he got to remind Tony to look for flirting with the right person, who very decidedly was not him but Iron Man, then he would see this part of his little “come back” through to the end too. But by now he had realized that maybe he had unwittingly set himself up as a rival for one of his best friends. It would perhaps be in everyone's best interest if he just stayed away from Tony altogether. Time to get out of the mansion. He’d thought about that before; that it was time to live his life without benefactors and Avengers around 24/7. He had even started looking for an apartment. SHIELD had offered to help him the moment he had admitted he was on the lookout and he had mentioned his interest to Iron Man, too.

His friend had not been enthusiastic about the prospects.

_What did you expect? When you leave he’ll be alone a lot of the time with his ex-lover. He's not looking forward to that. But maybe we can fix the ex-part and it's going to be fine._

Just that every time he saw Tony, there was something else he wanted to fix – like the distance between their bodies, their lips.

“Captain America! There you are!”

Tony was perfectly dressed up for the party, of course. The man was always handsome, but he was outright irresistible tonight.

_Is that what he would have looked for you if you’d agreed to a date? And why don’t you tell him how nice he looks?_

“Tony,” he said quietly and let himself be led to backstage.

“Shiny uniform? You didn’t come here straight from superhero work?” Tony teased. “I thought Captain America’s always on the job.”

“It’s the new one you gave me. I didn’t think one ripped up and torn apart by the Serpent Society this morning would go over well with the media.”

“The media seems to be happy enough to film every instant of someone tearing apart your…” Tony stopped himself even though he was waving a hand up and down tellingly in front of Steve’s torso, blushing slightly. “Never mind.”

“You noticed, huh?” Despite himself, he grinned.

“It’s hard not to.”

In the half darkness behind the curtain, they studied each other. Once again it struck Steve as strange, how Tony’s always self-assured and open demeanor changed when they were alone like this. A gentle smile played around Tony’s lips. Very kissable lips.

“Not sure anyone ever told me they look out for moments of my uniforms ripping.”

He wasn’t imagining it. Even in the dark, he could see Tony’s cheeks turn a dark pink. The embarrassed cough that followed was even better. And again - for a dangerous moment Steve forgot all about Iron Man and his plan to make Tony realize that he and Iron Man belonged together.

“I’m sorry. I… All this flirting might have…” Tony froze.

So did Steve, suddenly. This was the first time either of them had acknowledged what they’d been doing.

“We were flirting, weren’t we? It’s not just me reading into…” Tony was speaking to Steve’s chest, his eyes fixed firmly on the star there. “Because that would be just awkward. Having voiced it now, and...”

“We were flirting,” Steve admitted.

_Iron Man. Think of the plan, damn it! You know this is wrong._

“And I didn’t mind,” he added, his throat terribly parched and dry. Because he meant it. And because this was the plan. The plan was to make Tony think he was interested and firmly reject him. 

How could Steve have miscalculated so terribly?

There was exactly one person here he wanted to spend this Valentine’s Day with. Night. He was thinking about Valentine’s Night. But he couldn’t. That would be the worst betrayal of a friend and partner. He wouldn’t do it.

“Is it true, you’re moving out?” Tony rushed out the words. “Iron Man said…”

_Yes, Iron Man._

“Yes, I’m looking into apartments.”

“Oh.”

It looked like Tony was about to say more, but a voice called: “Mr. Stark? Oh, there you are! Oh, and this is Captain America! I am so excited to meet you.” The middle-aged dark-skinned woman held out her hand. “I would love to get an autograph for my nephew. Thanks to Mr. Stark, he already got one from Iron Man. But we need to proceed.”

“This is Mandy Richards. She’s lending us the place.”

“For a good cause,” the woman said smilingly and pointed both of them at the stage.

Steve was glad he’d survived - albeit frozen in ice - a world war and had been interrogated by enemies more times than he could count, because his thoughts were very much on the repeated mentions of his best friend by the man he would have liked to swoop up into his arms for a kiss just minutes ago, when he walked out on the stage beside said man, who now wore his fake and offish publicity smile.

* * *

For the next hour Steve walked through all the steps. He did his job. He made sure people spent their money for a good cause. He kept to the stage and beside the table where he was supposed to be accessible to interested guests.

He also couldn’t help watching Tony walk through the room like some kind of unapproachable secret agent who unfroze every time someone greeted him nicely. Then suddenly he was the most amiable host imaginable, laughing, joking, dancing when asked.

Which side of him was real?

_The side that belongs to your friend._

_Nobody belongs to anybody that way._

_Is that going to be your excuse when you tell Iron Man you’ve bagged his ex._

_Nobody is bagging - or bedding - anyone._

“You should sneak out and get out of your uniform.”

“What?!”

Of course, that just had to be the moment when Tony finally approached him.

“You brought another suit? Something else to wear? You don’t want to stay in the public eye for the rest of the night? You can go, of course, but I had hoped you’d stay for the dance.”

“I’m a terrible dancer,” he blabbered before he could stop himself.

“I’ve seen how coordinated you are. That can’t be true.”

“Terrible,” he repeated. “Really you should have brought Iron Man.”

Tony looked startled by his outburst. “To dance? Iron Man? Have you seen the tank he’s carrying around?”

“Yes!” someone said in an excited little squeal. “That would have been so amazing, Tony. Can’t you just see it? You should have brought more Avengers.”

Tony’s face turned pained and he looked to the side to say: “Sunset, I didn’t know we invited you.”

“Of course, you did, Tony.” The good-looking woman leaned into Tony’s space with the air of too much familiarity. “Because a bleeding heart like you only thinks of the suffering and the money that’ll help them, isn’t that right?”

“Mam,” Steve said and nodded. “Time for me to go before someone makes me dance.”

Tony looked crestfallen. “Yes, of course.”

“What a shame,” the woman said, but she didn’t care either way if Steve stayed or went. How many women was Tony “occasionally” involved with.

“Let me accompany you out…”

Steve nodded, but they hadn’t taken more than a few steps into the hallway when Steve admitted: “I do have something more casual to wear. Nothing too fancy.”

“I know,” Tony said and grinned, “Iron Man said he chose the tie.”

Suddenly his throat constricted. It wasn’t just a terrible idea. It was the worst of all possible ideas, but he heard himself say, “I can at least enjoy some of the food we picked for the evening,” before he could stop himself. How could Tony make him stumble over his own words without doing anything at all?

Not even the bright smile it brought to Tony’s face made him feel less doomed then.

“That would be nice. Although,” Tony stopped himself, “I’d understand, of course, if there’s someone else you’d rather be with on a day like this.”

_Valentine’s Day._

There it was again, the warm awkward feeling in his chest, the hopeful and at the same time uncharacteristically nervous glint in Tony’s blue eyes. Blue like Iron Man’s.

“No,” he said and felt like a thief, “nobody waiting for me today. But it’s sad that Iron Man isn’t here.”

He watched Tony’s eyes widen, narrow, then he licked his lips. “Iron Man would have liked to be here with you, it’s…”

“With me?” he asked, startled. _With me?? Did I break them up? Has this been a terribly love triangle all along?_

“Maybe you should,” and Tony pulled him along to a room where he could get out of the uniform, “change.”

Yes, of course.

Tony was right. No time for them to talk about this now.

People were watching.

People were always making assumptions. 

Had Steve made the wrong assumptions all along?

He tried to think about his recent interactions with Iron Man. The two of them, they were so close sometimes and others they went their separate ways for weeks and months without even hearing from each other. And now there was Tony - callous heartbreaker, flirty dandy, or a lover jilted for Captain America?

But what about all the stories of women and parties and smooth actors? Something was there, wasn’t it?

Steve couldn’t believe it though. He hadn’t ever seen Tony act anything but gentlemanly.

They slipped out of the ballroom and he took his things quietly to vanish into a back room to change.

His thoughts were going in circles.

He liked Tony.

Very much.

He was charming and attractive and if they were to date, Steve would be head over heels already. Tony was kind and handsome and the kind of guy he would have liked to have a chance with before the war.

The thought of Iron Man was holding him back. Heartbroken, lonely Iron Man, who Steve was closer with than anyone. His best friend. He _loved_ Iron Man in so many ways, although nothing beyond the close bond they shared as Avengers had ever been between them. A relationship was hardly possibly with Iron Man’s secret standing between them.

So how had all of it come to this?

_Your friend would be happy for you, even if it would break his heart._

Had Iron Man orchestrated this? Because Tony wanted Cap?

Piece by piece he stripped out of his uniform and put all pieces in a bag he’d brought, replacing them quickly with a shirt and nice grey pants, a red tie and a casual jacket that was just fancy enough to fly here.

He and Tony needed to talk.

It seemed he had misunderstood some things. Perhaps they could call in Iron Man and all sit down to clear things up once and for all.

He pulled the Avengers ID card from the uniform pocket he kept it in and looked at it for a long hard moment.

What was the right thing to do here.

He let the thin card slip through his fingers, spun it this way and that, sat down on a chair in the corner and considered his options. Then he activated it. “Iron Man? Can you hear me?”

There was no answer.

He gave it a moment.

“Iron Man, I’m not sure you’re really on a mission - or what’s going on. But I think we need to talk. We all need to sit down and talk. Check-in, please.”

He waited for a full minute.

Nothing happened; the channel remained silent.

With a sigh he pocketed his ID card.

Sudden voices in the hallway got his attention. Was he going to be able to slip out without anyone asking questions? To make sure he wouldn’t be found out today he pushed the bag under a corner table.

Time to go out and face Tony and his own confused feelings.

He pushed the door open with too much strength and froze even before he had fully pushed into the hallway.

Tony was there and the dark-haired woman who had been so dismissive of Captain America was leaning up into a kiss.

“Tony!” Beside Tony a young blonde woman, who Steve only knew from pictures, was near tears. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. You _said_ there was someone else.”

She turned on her heels and ran past Steve, who still found himself frozen in place in the open door, staring.

“Janice!” Tony called and pushed away from the other woman - Sunset? Was that even a name? “Janice, it’s not what you think… We’re not...”

At that very moment his eyes fell on Steve and Steve could practically see the horror dawn on his face, as he realized Steve had seen him kiss Sunset. 

Sunset leaned up, a firm grip on Tony’s shirt not faltering for a second. “Let her go, Tony. Things would never have worked out between you two.” She gave Steve a cursory glance and then glared as if she wanted to make sure he’d go away.

“Yes, Sunset, thank you,” Tony said harshly and pushed her away before she could plant her lips on his again. And suddenly Steve realized Tony hadn’t invited the kiss. His eyes were embarrassed and angry and sad. “Things wouldn’t have worked out, because there’s someone else - and that’s not you.”

His eyes were fixed on Steve.

“Iron Man,” Steve said, with the terrible sinking feeling that he had been set up to break his own heart. “You should be with Iron Man.”

Tony’s mouth fell open, startled.

The woman sneered. “Who the hell are you? Errand boy?”

She might just as well not have been there while Steve and Tony stared at each other.

“Nobody,” Steve said to her finally. “But that man already has someone waiting for him.”

With that he dove back into the room to pick up his bag and made a sprint out of there before Tony could stop him.

“Wait! Steve!”

* * *

For two hours he drove the motorcycle around, upstate and back. Then he got himself something to eat. When he checked his messages he found he had been offered an apartment by SHIELD that looked like a good option.

_You need your own place. You’ll still be an Avenger. You’ll still have Iron Man around and… Well, he and Tony should get back together instead of trying to make each other happy by setting each other up with other people._

He fingered the Avengers ID card again and noticed it blinking. No red alert. Just a message.

“We should talk, yeah, Cap, right,” Iron Man said and sounded breathless. “I’m home now. Where are you?”

His stomach twisted.

Home.

The mansion was his home. And he still felt heartbroken that he would be leaving it behind at all, but things were getting too complicated. He wasn’t even sure anymore what he was feeling. His heart welled over every time he thought of Iron Man, but at the same time, he remembered Tony, the way he had looked, the way he smiled, how Steve had wanted to kiss him. The man had done so much for him. But Iron Man was there for both of them all the time… It wasn’t fair to break his heart.

There was so much about both these men and their relationship that he didn’t know or understand. But he needed to be upfront with both men. He wasn’t going to come between them.

They both meant too much to him for that.

He got himself back to the mansion then, without answering the call.

But all lights sprang on as soon as he entered the garage.

Slowly, expecting Jarvis to be awake, he made his way up to the kitchen but found it empty.

“Steve?”

Tony stood in the hallway, his suit rumpled and his hair in a mess.

Oh, he had hoped to clear the air with Iron Man first. Or have him here at least, because that would have been a good reminder that Tony was _not Steve’s_. His heart belonged to someone else and Steve was just collateral damage in a lover’s misunderstanding.

“Can we talk?” Tony asked. He looked around nervously.

“Yes,” Steve said, nodding his agreement, “I rather think we should, yes.”

Tony motioned towards the library, but Steve passed it by for the living room. The library was where he and Iron Man talked. He’d rather have this happen in the room that held fewer memories so dear to him.

He sat down on the sofa and waited for Tony to take a seat in the armchair, but Tony slumped down on the sofa beside him. He looked pale and stressed. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Nothing happened, Tony. Between us, I mean. But I think maybe Iron Man should be here to hear this?” he suggested gently.

Tony leaned forward and considered that. “I think we got our wires crossed somewhere and I’m not quite sure where, and I usually know my wires.”

“Iron Man’s wires best of all,” Steve quipped and tried for a small smile to show that there really were no hard feelings. “I know the two of you like to keep your secrets…”

“Yeah,” Tony said and he was still staring at Steve as if he’d grown a second head. “Yeah, I know his wires well. And I know all his secrets.”

“And he yours.”

“Yes, but…”

“He should be here, Tony. It’s only fair. He’s my best friend and you are… You are amazing. Both of you are amazing people and… I won’t steal his man, okay?”

Tony leaned back and nodded, staring off into the distance as if he was piecing things together. “I should have seen this coming, I suppose. Things have a way of coming back to bite me. But I’m never quite prepared for the way the come back at me, you know.”

“That’s not fair. I was trying to make you see how much this relationship means to you and - I got carried away.”

“What?” Tony’s brow furrowed. “Come again?”

“Iron Man was so heartbroken when you split up…”

“Split up?” Tony was gaping at him.

“Are you saying you are still together and…?”

Was Tony being serious?

“Oh.” Tony narrowed his eyes, but he seemed less angry than sad suddenly. “Is that what you think of me? That I’m a cheat?”

“No! Yes. No, actually no. It's not and if anything, all of this has shown me how much I like you. But don't deny that there's something between you and Iron Man. I saw him come from your room more than once and... when you come out of the workshop sometimes... It's obvious what the two of you were doing in there and...”

Tony's eyes got wide as saucers. “You... _saw_? And that's what...? Okay, alright. Call, Iron Man. He should be here to hear this.” Something in the way he was staring at Steve had changed. He had realized something while talking. Steve could see it in the way the tension left his shoulders, but Tony's eyes got more guarded, too. Like he was bracing himself.

Despite this being a far cry from what Tony's usual behavior around him was, something about this was familiar. The shining blue eyes... His throat went dry. “Don't you want to call him in, Tony?”

“No,” Tony said firmly and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “ _You_ tell him to come.” Steve wasn't sure why, but there was no mistaking the challenge that had crept into Tony's voice along with quiet amusement.

Amusement.

It set Steve's nerves on edge.

He had always been out of his depths when it came to romance, but when had his life gotten this complicated?

He pulled the Avengers ID card from his pocket, while Tony watched him with an air of calm and motioned for him to put out the call. He knew how these things worked. After all he had developed them for – or together with – Iron Man.

Again he pushed for Iron Man's frequency. Again he spoke: “Iron Man? Are you there? I'm at the mansion now with Tony and... Where are you? Didn’t you say you were here?”

He expected an answer or even Iron Man stepping into the room suddenly.

He didn't expect the familiar sound of an incoming message.

But not from the card that was clasped in his hand.

He looked up to where he thought the sound was coming from.

Tony was still watching him, but all traces of calm had left his face. Nervously he wrung his hands. “There's a reason why Iron Man comes from my room sometimes,” he explained, “and why I come from the workshop after Iron Man went in, looking sweaty and exhausted. I was trying to be careful, but I hadn't expected anyone to watch closely enough to jump to the wrong conclusions, probably because I was trying to avoid anyone from jumping to the right conclusions.”

The ID card was still beeping with the sound of an incoming message. But only slowly did that connect with what Tony was telling him – and it only really fell together when Tony pulled the Avengers ID card from the inside of his jacket.

Iron Man’s.

For a moment Steve couldn't believe it. “Did Iron Man quit...?”

But he knew.

The familiarity. The comments about Iron Man, the comments Iron Man frequently made about his “employer”. The blue eyes.

“I've never really seen you in the same room together,” he realized.

Only photos. There had been a few press conferences with Tony and Iron Man.

Why had he not noticed before?

_Because you were nervous around the attractive billionaire and open with the friend. And so the two of them were different with you – despite being one person._

“It's hard to pull that off and it only really works with people who don't expect you to act like yourself,” Tony explained quietly. “Are you angry?”

“Angry?”

“For leading you on.”

“Leading me on?”

Sad and crestfallen, Tony seemed to expect to be turned away now or worse. 

But Steve understood the need for secrecy. He'd lived with his own secret all through the war and outside this mansion and SHIELD his identity remained a secret. He understood why sticking with one story that made Iron Man and Tony Stark people who worked closely together had seemed the best option to Tony.

But they were one.

It had always been Tony, always been Iron Man. Giving him a home and shelter, giving him a place to stay, being the friend he talked with all through the night, the man he only saw glimpses of in the kitchen, the man who had his back in a fight. All of them Tony.

Tony and Iron Man.

Recently nervous and sad around him.

Hints of loneliness and interest.

All Tony.

“When you told Ms. Cord that there was someone else...?”

Tony looked away his hands were still moving incessantly, forming first and opening again. “I was talking about you.”

The world fell back into place as if nothing had ever been unclear.

And while Tony was still nervously waiting for the other shoe to drop, Steve made up his mind. He grabbed Tony by the wrists to pull him into an embrace – and to do what he had wanted to do since the flirting had turned to real; he kissed Tony with all the honest need he could now show him without guilt.

He wasn't betraying Iron Man – he was kissing him.

Tony let it happen, his hands settled on Steve's shoulders and they fell back on the sofa until Steve was nearly straddling Tony.

“Does that mean I can take you out to dinner finally?” Tony asked panting when the kiss ended.

“Yes, please, I'd be delighted, Shellhead,” he whispered, wondering why something hard-edged was pressing into his chest.

Noticing where he was looking to see what had pushed into him, Tony gave him a rueful smile. “There's some more secret I'm keeping,” he whispered and pulled up the shirt he was wearing just a little so Steve could see red metal gleam from it.

“You're wearing it now?”

“Part of it. Always,” Tony whispered. “Long story.”

“I think I'm ready to hear it. I want to know everything about you.”

A brilliant smile lit up Tony's face. “I'll tell you everything.”

But first, Steve decided he wanted to taste those lips again, feel the heat between them grow, their isolation and loneliness coming to an end in the mingling of breath. He initiated the kiss, but it was Tony who kissed back hard.

This had started as a bad idea but ended in the best of ways. And it looked like Captain America would get a last minute Valentine's Day date after all.

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me for fic updates on [tumblr](https://navaanwrites.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/navaanwrites). This fic has a post on the tumblr [here](https://navaanwrites.tumblr.com/post/177558067099/valentine-lessons-navaan-marvel-616) in case you want to share it. It also has a page on my [Dreamwidth](https://navaan.dreamwidth.org/619750.html).


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